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R.E.M. have teamed up with director Sam Taylor-Wood for the video to their single 'UBerlin'.

R.E.M. have always been aware of their visual impact. The band have a history of creating eye catching videos, with their left field influences clearly on show. Turning them into MTV darlings, this aspect of their output has never quite left them.

Working on a new album, the band began to put feelers out to some of their favourite directors. 'Collapse Into Now' is due to be released on March 7th, containing some of R.E.M.'s finest material for a decade.

Taken from the as yet unreleased album, 'UBerlin' is a direct return from R.E.M. Deeply affecting, the track will now come backed with a typically inventive video courtesy of Sam Taylor-Wood.

The British director teamed up with the band, outlining a short film which stars Aaron Johnson. The actor is shown walking around London's Brick Lane area, with some typically lush visuals from Taylor-Wood.

Michael Stipe said: “Sam and I had talked about doing something for R.E.M., but I had no idea that she and Aaron would create such a work of beauty. It’s as if all the film references instantly updated themselves to “21st Century NOW.”

Meanwhile, the British director was clearly inspired by the freedom afforded to her by the band. “Michael Stipe gave me complete creative control and trusted me to make this piece for R.E.M. Aaron gave me his wild, free spirit and the collaboration was pure magic.”

The video is set to premiere shortly.

Of course, this is far from the first musical project Sam Taylor-Wood has been involved in. The director was responsible for last year's much publicised John Lennon biopic 'Nowhere Boy' which dealt with the late Beatle's adolescence.